


Reasons to Reach Tomorrow

by lavieboheme0919



Series: Three is Not a Crowd [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Anal Sex, Bottom Peter Hale, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Implied/Referenced Incest, Jealousy, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Married Chris/Peter, Naked Cuddling, Past Sexual Abuse, Past Suicidal Thoughts, Polyamory, Post-Coital Cuddling, Professor Peter Hale, Romance, Sane Peter Hale, Sassy Derek, Sassy Peter Hale, Sassy Stiles Stilinski, Top Chris Argent, lawyer Chris Argent, wannabe detective Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-11-09 00:36:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11093238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavieboheme0919/pseuds/lavieboheme0919
Summary: ***This is part of a series and heavily references previous events***Stiles' determination to figure out what's happening with the case has driven a bit of a wedge between him and Chris. Derek goes along with the plan to either prove or disprove Stiles' theory.Peter and Chris discuss issues with their marriage while Derek and Stiles contemplate their status as boyfriends... and they all wonder how it fits together with the four of them.





	Reasons to Reach Tomorrow

"You've got to smooth things over with Chris," Peter said. "I refuse to have this kind of tension here."

"He fired me," Stiles replied stubbornly.

"No," Peter corrected. "He asked you to stop undermining his job. If you would simply drop this, you'd be welcome to return to work."

"His client is guilty."

"That's not your decision to make, Stiles, and that's part of what's pissing Chris off. He's a criminal defense attorney. His job is to make sure that his clients receive a fair trial and their rights are not violated," Peter said, echoing his husband's thought process.

"And what about the victim?" Stiles demanded.

"It's the prosecuting attorney's job to help get justice for the victim. Chris just wants to make sure they go about it the right way. We both get where you're coming from and the fact that your dad is a sheriff is not lost on us," Peter said.

"And then what? A guilty man walks free? What the fuck kind of justice is that?" Stiles complained.

"That's one of the flaws inherent to the court system. Sometimes the bad guys go free and the good guys get locked up. It's shitty… but it happens," Peter replied with a shrug. "What Chris does is a morally gray area. But I think that you, of all people, should understand that."

"What do you mean 'you, of all people'?" Stiles asked indignantly.

"I hold a Ph.D. in organic chemistry," he said as he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. It was from the same notepad that Stiles had used to take his notes earlier. Peter had used a pencil to shade over the indents, revealing the negative from underneath and raised an eyebrow. "You don't think I would quickly recognize the symbols for the chemical processes to synthesize chloroform, LSD, and thermite?" he replied, casually raising an eyebrow.

"I believe my lawyer would advise me to exercise my fifth amendment right against self-incrimination," Stiles replied.

" _That_ is what I meant by 'you, of all people.'"

"I won't do anything to fuck with the case that the firm is trying to present. I am, however, going to make sure that the prosecution isn't holding out on us," Stiles replied. Peter once again raised an eyebrow. "You know… to ensure that a fair trial is held."

"Do not cost him the case," Peter said.

"I won't," Stiles promised. "I would never hurt him on purpose, Peter. You both _have_ to know that."

Peter nodded, accepting Stiles' vow. "So what did you say to get my nephew to sign up for your little… spy mission?" he asked.

"Nothing. He trusts me," Stiles replied. There was a point to the way he said it, Peter was certain. "Can I borrow your chemistry lab?" Stiles asked.

"Absolutely not," Peter said as he moved to his feet. "I'm not going to be part of this in any way. However, what you do when the lab is accidentally left unlocked overnight is, well, beyond my control."

* * *

"Why are we going to Toys-R-Us?" Derek couldn't for the life of him understand how this played into the grand scheme that Stiles had cooked up.

"We need etch-a-sketches," Stiles replied.

"Of course," Derek snorted. "That totally explains it. I'm sorry for being so myopic."

Stiles turned and stared at him incredulously. "Have you never watched Breaking Bad?"

Derek froze. "Please tell me you aren't going to make meth."

Stiles rolled his eyes. "No, we aren't making meth. We need it to make thermite to get into the evidence locker. There's aluminum powder in etch-a-sketches."

"You would need to buy every etch-a-sketch in the city to get enough useable aluminum powder to do that. Meanwhile we can just go to Walmart and buy aluminum powder outright," Derek replied.

"How the fuck did you know that?" Stiles asked in shock as he verified it with a quick Google search on his phone.

"You're the mastermind of this plan. How the fuck didn't you?" Derek asked. "Have you even cased the joint? What exactly do we need thermite for?"

"Are you from an 80s gangster film?" Stiles doubled over in laughter. "Who says 'cased the joint' anymore?"

"Forgive me if I'm not up to date on the vocabulary surrounding the multitude of felonies I'm about to commit with you," Derek said.

"It's only a felony if you get caught," Stiles said assuredly. "And if truth be told, not the first one I've ever committed."

"I'm not so sure this pre-law program has had the best influence on you," Derek remarked. "You're basically an evil genius and I'm truly terrified about what you could do if you knew any more about how the law works."

"My dad was a sheriff. Even he doesn't know the number of cases I helped him with," Stiles replied matter-of-factly. "I have always tried to know enough about the law be able to exploit any loopholes might be of use to me."

"You're certifiably insane, you know that, right?" He studied the list in his hands. "You've also got chloroform listed here… I thought you said that wouldn't work to knock anyone out."

"It won't… but it _will_ help us synthesize LSD..."

"What exactly do you expect to find in the evidence locker?" Derek asked. "There are parts of this plan that really don't make sense."

"I think there's some evidence that's being suppressed by the D.A. and I want to know what it is and why," Stiles said.

"I trust you, you know that," Derek said. "But what exactly is missing? Chris says he has a rock-solid alibi."

"He does," Stiles admitted. "But the alibi was reported and confirmed by the prosecution. I can't prove it yet, but my guess is that the prosecutor wants an acquittal because…"

A look of realization dawned on Derek's face. "If he's acquitted by a jury, then he's protected from double jeopardy even if the other evidence comes to light."

Stiles nodded. "Exactly. By the way… you are so hot right now."

"Oh stop," Derek chuckled.

"Seriously," Stiles said through his laughter. "I kind of want you to take me right here, right now…"

"Please, Stiles… we're driving."

"I've been fucked in a car before," Stiles said. "I've also given road head before."

"How about we hold off until we're done shopping and then we fuck like our lives depend on it," Derek said with a devilish smirk.

* * *

Peter and Chris were lying together in each other's arms. "Did you talk to him?" Chris asked.

"I did and he's not doing this maliciously," Peter replied. "I think he's just accustomed to how he interfered with his dad's investigations when he was a kid and this doesn't seem any different to him."

"Whether they're malicious or not, his actions have consequences, Peter," Chris sighed. "They can affect my career."

"I know," Peter said, sensing the tension in his husband's voice. "I know. I made him promise me that he won't fuck up your case."

Chris adjusted his position so that he could rest his head on Peter's chest. "I'm sorry for lashing out earlier," he said. "The things I said to you weren't fair. I just assumed you weren't going to support me."

"I'm not gonna lie," Peter sighed. "It hurt a bit. In all the time we've been together, I've never been unsupportive of you."

"I know," Chris said. "I'm ashamed of how I acted, to be honest. My issue was with Stiles and you bore the brunt of it."

"We've started growing apart," Peter observed after several long moments of silence. "It began during the year and a half that Stiles wasn't in our lives and we never addressed it. And it's great that we have Stiles back and now we have Derek as part of our group… but we never fixed what was going on between us."

"I didn't want to admit it," Chris confessed. "But you're right. We never addressed that. I can't imagine my life without you."

"I feel the same way," Peter said. "But maybe we should do a better job of showing it to one another…"

"I agree," Chris said. "We should renew our vows."

"What?"

"Yeah. Let's renew our vows," Chris repeated. "It's something I've been thinking about for a long time now… and right now is probably the best time to do it."

"We should also probably talk to the boys about our new dynamic," Peter said. "Keeping alive a marriage that spans 22 years takes a lot of work. When you add in Stiles and then Derek… that job gets much harder."

Chris sighed. Peter was the sweetest man he knew. He certainly had his quirks, but when it came to the people he loved, he would do anything for them. It made him feel guiltier for having lashed out in the kitchen. He couldn't honestly think of a time in their relationship that Peter had ever been anything less than supportive.

"Do you remember when you were in grad school and I was in law school… you and I lived on ramen so that we could afford our wedding?" Chris asked.

Peter smiled as the memory came so vividly back. "Yeah. To this day that stuff makes me vomit."

"We didn't have cable, but we had an old TV and a VCR and we would watch our copy of Thelma and Louise over and over again. It got to the point that we could quote every line," Chris' voice trailed off as he allowed the memory to play back before his mind's eye. "I asked you if you would ever drive off a cliff into a canyon with someone and you said—"

"I said, ' _Okay, then, listen. Let's not get caught… Let's keep goin'!_ ' and kissed you," Peter finished. He perfectly captured the same southern drawl that Thelma had used in the film.

"I was so upset by it," Chris admitted.

Peter sat up, forcing Chris to move a bit. He looked up at Peter whose brows were furrowed. "Why?" He had never heard this before.

"Because let's face it… you and Thelma have a lot in common and the fact that you could so quickly and easily consider the idea of killing yourself was something I couldn't stand," Chris admitted.

Peter sighed and hugged Chris close to him. "You have no idea how close I was to killing myself when you met me. I didn't think I had anything to live for. I was estranged from my family and my first-ever boyfriend was telling me that love was this thing that hurt and made me feel horrible about myself. What reason did I have to continue?" He felt Chris tense up. "I was doing my best to get through each day, Chris."

"What changed?"

"Suddenly I had someone to live for."

"You should live for yourself," Chris said softly. He sat with his legs crossed on the bed, the two of them in their boxers.

Peter seemed to stare past Chris as he shook his head. "No. It isn't enough," he said. "It's still not." His eyes regained focus and stared piercingly into his husband. "But you are. And now Stiles is. I'm sure that in time, Derek will be too."

"Peter, I—"

"No, Chris… when I tell you that you're my reason for living… my reason for waking up, I'm not being sappy or romantic. I'm being honest. You are the one person I've ever been able to speak to with complete and open honesty," Peter didn't break eye contact. "On the very first day we met, you saw the absolute worst aspects of my life and you could have turned and run. I know I would have. Yet you didn't. You stuck around and you made the act of living hurt just a little less each day."

Chris could feel the lump rising in his throat as his eyes became misty. "Peter, I don't know what to say."

Peter shrugged in response. "You don't have to say anything. I didn't tell you because I wanted you to react. I told you because I wanted you to know."

* * *

_It was only a few months into Stiles having moved in with Peter and Chris. The scream had woken both Peter and Stiles out of a deep sleep. It was the sort of bone-chilling scream one might hear from someone who was being tortured or murdered. Peter and Stiles scrambled out of bed to Chris' bathroom where he was standing naked, staring into the mirror with wide, unblinking eyes._

" _What's wrong? Are you alright?" Peter asked. His heart was pounding in his chest._

_Chris pointed to a spot on his face. "Do you see this?" he demanded._

_Peter was confused. "Your face?" The look in Chris' eyes told him that guess was incorrect. "Your beard… I'm sorry… I don't quite understand what it is that you want me to see."_

" _I've got_ several _gray hairs in my beard. That means there's probably some on the top of my head, too!" Chris cried._

_With heavy-lidded eyes, Stiles gave a sigh. "You woke us up at four in the morning on a Saturday because you're angry you have a gray hair?"_

" _It's going to happen to both of you in time!" Chris threatened. "And I don't want to hear any pleas for sympathy from me."_

" _I honestly don't care about going gray. I mean look at me," Peter said, waving his hand to indicate his entire body. The chiseled jaw. The strong arms, shoulders, and pecs. The abs and V that naturally led the eyes down to one of the most exquisitely crafted cocks that Chris had ever had the pleasure of seeing. "Once I start going gray, I'll flawlessly transition from 'Daddy' to 'Silver Fox' and to be frank, I'm not sure the world is ready for that."_

" _You're just leveling up on your Daddy status, Chris. It's nothing to freak out about. Now stop worrying about your gray hairs and go back to bed," Stiles said. He yawned as he turned on his heels and trudged back into Peter's bedroom while mumbling, "Gen X-ers and baby boomers say millennials are vain because of selfies and then freak out over a few hairs…"_

" _I'm going to get some dye when I go to the store later…" Chris told Peter._

" _If you pluck or dye your gray hairs, I'll be very angry with you," Peter said, pushing his naked body against his husband. "I happen to think your graying hair looks quite distinguished and sexy."_

_Chris gazed back, betraying his momentary vulnerability. "You really think it looks alright?"_

_Peter answered by kissing Chris with savage intensity. "It has me all hot and bothered," he said when he finally came up for air._

_Peter's reaction renewed Chris' confidence. He pushed back against the kiss, pushing Peter into his bed. Peter raised his legs and Chris knew exactly what he wanted. It required a little preparation. Peter didn't bottom often and he only bottomed for Chris. Peter moaned and bit his bottom lip as Chris readied him and then got into position. He gasped as Chris eased inside._

_Peter didn't have many positive experiences when it came to being the receiving partner. His first boyfriend, a professor named Duke, was the man to whom he lost his virginity. Duke often used too little lube and was way too rough. He also did not care how uncomfortable the encounter was to Peter, who was often left with severe pain. There were several times that he had to seek medical attention because of the injuries._

_Chris had provided Peter with the very first and only experience he'd ever had where anal sex felt great. He tried it with a few of his other partners and when things became rough, Peter would panic. At that point, he forswore bottoming except for with Chris._

_Peter hadn't even let Stiles top him, though Chris had done it on multiple occasions. To Peter, this was an activity that was exclusively theirs. It was something he only allowed his husband to do. This was special between them._

_Their lips connected in a desperate longing. Peter held his husband's face close to his, feeling Chris' long, deep strokes inside him. He let out little profanities as he urged his husband on. "Do you kiss your husband with a mouth that filthy?" Chris teased._

" _Often and with great pleasure," Peter replied. "It's also not the dirtiest thing my mouth has done…" Chris laughed and kissed Peter once more. The rhythm Chris had reached was driving Peter wild. He could feel himself inching closer and closer to that abyss as Chris reached down and began stroking his husband's throbbing, yet untouched cock._

" _I'm not gonna last much longer," Chris warned._

" _Me neither," Peter replied, scratching his nails into his husband's back and shoulders. It started in his core, reverberating through every nerve and fiber of his body. He felt his back arch and heard a scream escape his lips. It didn't feel like something he was doing, though. The hormones of sex flooded his bloodstream… adrenaline, dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins… It was the magic of biology. It went off like a canon firing in a bygone era. For a few brief seconds, the world around them had completely fallen away and it was just the two of them, bodies intertwined, souls connected on the most cosmic of levels. It was what differentiated sex from making love. The latter was so much more intense._

_For his part, Chris climaxed too. It shot into his husband who grinned wickedly at the sensation. It had been watching his husband that had done the final trick. There was nothing more beautiful than the man whose body writhed beneath his. In a museum filled with the most exquisite works of art throughout history, Peter would still be the most beautiful thing in the room. For all his vanity, he knew it._

_When he collapsed beside Peter, he rested his head and hand on Peter's sweaty chest. "Fuck!" he exclaimed. "That was intense."_

" _You're telling me…" Peter chuckled."_

_They basked in the waning glow of their pleasure. "Are you sure the gray looks alright?"_

" _I'm sure," Peter replied, kissing the top of his husband's head. "There's nothing that would ever make me think that you were anything less than perfect."_

" _Thank you, Peter," he said softly. "I really_ did _need that. You always date these young, hot twinks… sometimes I worry that eventually you're going to trade me in for one of them, since they can keep up with your… appetites."_

" _Babe, please never worry about that. I married you. My vows, hands down, were the easiest things I've ever said in my life. To have and to hold… In times of sorrow and times of joy… in sickness and in health… In this life and whatever lies beyond," Peter recited. "I know it didn't include a section of 'In times of gray and times of not gray,' but I feel like it's pretty well implied."_

* * *

When Derek and Stiles got back home, they found Peter and Chris in bed together, both naked and asleep. "They never share a bed," Stiles whispered in shock as they snuck past the room and decided to sleep in Chris' bed for the night, as Peter's was currently occupied.

"Why is that?" Derek asked. "Not gonna lie, I've always thought it's weird that he doesn't share a bed with Chris."

"Peter has a sleeping disorder and sometimes he has sex with people in his sleep," Stiles answered. "It's usually kinda rough and he never remembers it afterwards. Sometimes it's just one go… sometimes it's much, _much_ longer."

"Has he ever done it to you?" Derek asked.

"Yeah… I like it though. When it happened to Chris, it scared him and he decided to avoid the problem by sleeping separately," Stiles said. "It worked and so it continued."

"I couldn't imagine not waking up each morning next to the man I love," Derek said softly. "That had to be hard on them."

Stiles nodded. "Yeah, but they do a lot of cuddling and still go on dates."

Cocking his head, Derek asked, "Are we still going to do that?"

Stiles chuckled. "You mean this shopping trip in preparation of our serious law-breaking wasn't a date? I guess that means I won't put out."

Derek laughed at the response, but pressed the issue. "I'm being serious." He moved around the bed and took Stiles' hands in his. "Yeah, I'm part of this strange polyamorous intergenerational incestuous _thing_ we have… but _you_ are my boyfriend. The other things are completely separate and I could take them or leave them."

Stiles smiled as he took in the severe visage in front of him. "Of course," he said softly. Derek's hair had been growing somewhat long and Stiles tucked a lock of it behind his boyfriend's ear before leaning in to kiss him. "You don't take the people you love for granted," he whispered when the kiss broke. "Peter taught me that."

When they stood close like this—so close that Derek could feel the heat of Stiles' body against his own… so close that he could feel the way their bodies fit so perfectly and elegantly against one another—he often had to catch his breath. Derek was an avid reader and always had been. As a teenager, he had also been quite a hopeless romantic. All his life, he thought of how unrealistic it was to love someone the way it's portrayed in books… and yet here he was, right smack dab in a love story that could have been penned by one of the Brontë sisters. Derek kissed him again. He would never get tired of the way Stiles tasted and smelled.

Their new arrangement was complicated, but Stiles was his focus. He had been since the day they ran into one another on campus. Since they moved in with his uncles, Derek had found it difficult to get some alone time with the man he loved, and had often been jealous when he knew that Stiles was spending time with one of them.

This arrangement, however, had one major benefit. The previously verboten topic of the relationship between Stiles, Chris, and Peter was now completely on the table and Derek was able to ask questions to get a feel for how Stiles had fit into that dynamic previously. "Did you ever have any misgivings about moving in with my uncles?" he asked as they settled into the bed. The lights were off, but enough light was filtering in from the window that he could easily make out Stiles' delicate features.

"Honestly, I did everything that usually gets someone killed in a slasher film," Stiles admitted. "I always had this voice in the back of my head saying that this was a bad idea because I'd end up murdered or something. But I didn't listen."

"When did you first know you loved them?"

Stiles thought about this one for a moment. "I honestly don't know," he admitted guiltily. "We didn't even say the words until shortly before I met you for the first time."

"But you had to have felt it…" Derek prodded.

"I did… but it was a very gradual thing. As we got to know each other better, we became closer and closer… it wasn't like a switch flipped and suddenly I was in love," Stiles said.

"Have you ever been jealous of one of them?" he asked.

"Yeah. When it first started, I would observe the way Peter was with Chris and compare it to the way he was with me. It was different. Part of that obviously comes from the fact that they've been together for so long, but you could just see it… you could feel it when they looked at one another or held hands. It was like fireworks or sparklers going off. I wanted that sort of explosive, beautiful love," he answered wistfully.

Derek moved closer to him. Both men were lying on their sides, facing one another. Each had one arm tucked under their pillow and the other hand was in the center of them, clasped together. "Do you feel like you have that now?" he asked.

"Yeah," Stiles replied without even a moment's hesitation. There was a dead silence that followed. Stiles knew the question that hung in the air, unasked. _With which one of us?_ He waited a bit more to see if Derek would actually ask the question.

Derek didn't. He was afraid of the answer.

"It's with you, dumbass," Stiles said, answering it. Derek exhaled a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "Part of what makes Peter and Chris work is because of the tragedy that brought them together. Up front, the worst part of Peter's life was out in the open and Chris loved him anyway. It's just like that with us."

"How so?" Derek asked.

"The day you ran into me at the school, I was broken. I had already attempted suicide several times… I had made Peter and Chris such a huge part of my life that without them, I didn't know how to function. You didn't have to stop… to comfort me… to help me in any way. I wouldn't have blamed you if you hadn't. You're _his_ relative," Stiles explained. "When you came back to check on me each day, I realized what a great person you are and I started to see you as a friend. After a while, we were boyfriends and I didn't even realize it…"

"Neither did I, to be fair," Derek interjected, causing them both to laugh a bit.

"I didn't have sex with you for so long after we acknowledged we were even a couple because it hurt so much to touch you," Stiles admitted. "I couldn't grasp the fact that I had lucked out enough to get _you_. I thought that it wasn't real… and I was afraid that if we had sex, it'd be over for us."

"And when it wasn't?" Derek asked softly.

"That's when I knew."

"But you were so sad over Peter and Chris," Derek said.

"Of course I was… I was with them for two years but I didn't get any closure. And I'm glad that we're back together and god knows I love them… but you're the one who brought me back from the edge," Stiles replied. "And to me, that makes what we have so much more special."

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you thought! This installment was more character-centric than plot-moving, but I thought it would be nice to see the couples acting as couples and being all lovey-dovey. I hope you enjoyed!!


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